Engaging stakeholders in integrated impact assessments is not easy, especially if consultation is to be active and effective, and particularly where there are a large number of potential stakeholders, from different areas of the world. 

A wide range of methods for stakeholder consultation exist (see link to left).  Which of these is most appropriate will depend on the character of the issue under consideration, the scope and purpose of the assessment, the resources available, and the social and geographic context. 

In general, however, more effective consultation is likely to occur when effort is devoted to gaining the trust of the stakeholders, and in engaging those concerned in a sustained dialogue, as many previous studies have shown (see references below).  This can rarely be achieved quickly, for trust has to be earned.  The most successful approaches to stakeholder consultation are therefore usually those that provide the basis for sustained involvement, and which give stakeholders the opportunity to influence what is done, how it is done and how the outcomes are used.